


with the taste of dust in my mouth all day

by alinaandalion



Category: Leverage
Genre: Angst, Friendship, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-04-29
Updated: 2012-04-29
Packaged: 2017-11-04 12:21:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 516
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/393779
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alinaandalion/pseuds/alinaandalion
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Post-"The Bottle Job."  Parker calls Sophie looking for comfort about the team's latest job and the fact that Nate is drinking again.</p>
            </blockquote>





	with the taste of dust in my mouth all day

Parker grabs her phone and curls up on her bed, staring at the small device.  She’s not supposed to call Sophie because Nate says that the team shouldn’t bother her so much.  
  
But Parker misses her, and while Tara is good at being a grifter, Parker doesn’t really want to talk to her about other stuff.  She bites her bottom lip and pushes the right sequence of buttons.  Her mouth goes dry as she listens to the ring on the other side.  
  
The ringing stops, there’s a pause, and then Sophie’s voice filters through, warm and heavy with sleep.  “Hey, Parker.”  
  
The heaviness in Parker’s chest lessens a little, and she sighs.  “Hey.  Have you talked to anyone else?”  
  
“Not since last week.  Why?  Has something happened?”  Sophie’s voice is strengthening, her worry cutting through.  
  
Parker doesn’t say anything right away because Eliot has told her to not tell Sophie that Nate is drinking again.  But Tara might have already said something, and Parker doesn’t really have anyone to talk to about her worries.  
  
“Nate’s drinking again.”  
  
The words fall out of her mouth before she can stop them, but she can’t really care.  Maybe Sophie will do something about it because Parker is afraid of this new manic Nate who is determined to do the impossible.  She listens to Sophie breathing on the other side, and she waits for some response from her.  
  
“How bad is he?”  
  
“We pulled the Wire Job in an hour and a half,” Parker says cheerfully.  
  
Sophie takes a sharp breath.  “That’s impossible.”  
  
“Not anymore.”  
  
“Well, that’s true.”  Sophie chuckles a little.  “Did it get dangerous?”  
  
“No more than usual.”  Parker grins then fiddles with the ends of her ponytail.  “I still miss you.”  
  
“I miss you, too, Parker.”  Sophie lets out a sigh.  
  
“So, when are you coming back?”  
  
“I’m not sure.”  
  
Parker flops back onto her bed.  “Then where are you right now?”  
  
“Florence.”  
  
“I always liked it there.  I wanted to steal _The David_ but I couldn’t quite manage it.”  
  
“Where would you have put it?” Sophie asks, and Parker can hear the smile in her voice.  
  
She shrugs.  “I’d find somewhere.  It’d be worth it.”  
  
“It certainly would be.”  
  
“Are you sure you can’t come back soon?”  Parker asks in a soft voice.  
  
“I’m sorry, Parker.  I just can’t right now.”  
  
“Why not?  Why can’t you figure yourself out here, with us?”  
  
“It’s not that simple.”  Sophie’s voice cracks along the edges of the syllables, and Parker feels the hurt radiate in her chest.  
  
“Maybe not, but we need you.”  
  
“I’m sorry, Parker, but I can’t.”  
  
“Okay.”  Parker heaves out a sigh.  “I can still call you, right?”  
  
“Whenever you want.”  
  
She’s pretty sure Sophie is smiling because she can sense the warmth and comfort of it.  Her lips quirk upward in a small answering grin.  
  
“Okay.  Bye.”  
  
“Goodbye, Parker.”  
  
Sophie hangs up first, and Parker lets the phone slip from her ear as she pulls Bunny to her chest and curls around him, trying to ignore the tears hovering at the edges of her eyes.


End file.
